Womens Jr National Volleyball Training Team Named

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 30, 2012) – USA Volleyball is pleased to announce the 2012 U.S. Women’s Junior National Volleyball Training Team roster. These 23 athletes have been selected from around the country to train together and compete at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships (HPC) in Des Moines, Iowa, and the NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship in Nicaragua.

The two-stage program will have the players train together prior to the HPC and before the final roster of 12 athletes are selected for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Volleyball Team (WJNT).

The players not selected to the team competing at the NORCECA Continental Championship will compete together at the HPC and serve as WJNT alternates in case of injury.

The team is scheduled to train July 15-29 in Des Moines before the NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship, which takes place Aug. 19-27 in Nicaragua.

The 23 athletes represent 15 different USA Volleyball regions including four from the Southern California Volleyball Association, three from the Great Plains Region, two each from the Lone Star, Sun Country and Ohio Valley Regions, and one each from Pioneer Region, Aloha Region, Arizona Region, North Texas Region, Keystone Region, Great Lakes Region, Hoosier Region, Lakeshore Region, Rocky Mountain Region and Intermountain Volleyball Association.

Twin sisters Amber and Kadie Rolfzen are the only players making the transition from last year’s U.S. Girls’ Youth National Volleyball Team to the U.S. Women’s Junior National Volleyball Team this year.

The 2012 squad will be led by former national team member Rod Wilde (1982-1984), who recently served as assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin. Indoor U.S. Olympian Charlene Johnson-Whitted, who competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, will assist Wilde along with Piedmont Volleyball Club Director Blaine Tendler.

Wilde and Whitted coached together at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games where the U.S. Girls’ Youth Olympic Team won the silver medal under Wilde’s coaching. Tendler has been involved in the USA Volleyball National High Performance Program since 2005.

To be eligible for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team, athletes needed to be born in either 1994 or 1995.